As we greet this new day on planet Earth, there
are a number of great truths; few more apparent than that there is a gulf
separating the two major political Parties, a space that spans poles (no pun
intended). The philosophies and
ideologies that frame the views and the accompanying talking points of the
Republican Party, which convened last week in Cleveland, are frequently pitted
in diametrical opposition to those of the Democratic Party, now underway in
Philadelphia.
More often than not, it seems, the media, intent
upon sparking the devolution of civil discourse, fans the flames of discord. It may be to garner ratings, or to gain
clicks, or to sell newspapers or magazines.
Regardless of the intended purpose, far too regularly, a media outlet is
front and center in the midst of the resultant turmoil.
Last week, the GOP gave us four days flush with
varying degrees of drama. Let me say up
front, the early analysis suggests that, at least in the short term, the drama
was a plus for Candidate Trump. He
started this week with a 6-point bounce, and a lead of then Democratic
presumptive nominee Clinton. According
to CNN, Trump leads Clinton 44% to 39% in a four-way matchup between the Republicans,
Democrats, Libertarians, and the Green Party.
In a head-to-head match-up with Clinton, he leads 48% to 45%.
If anything I suppose those results give
credence to the maxim, “There is no such thing as bad publicity…also framed as
“All publicity is good publicity.” At
least it seems that way when you consider the chaotic nature of the GOP’s four
idyllic days in “Believe-land.” To
summarize that amazing moment in time, the highlight of which was formally
elevating Donald Trump to the status of Party Nominee, here are my personal
highlights:
·
Monday – Melania bites
Michelle. No, not in a man bites dog
kind of way. Rather that is hipster
patois for copying one’s style, copping one’s moves, or in this case
plagiarizing one’s speech. That may
actually have been the low moment of the Convention. It was certainly the negative event that
consumed the most media time and energy.
It totally “trumped” the earlier events of the day, when a small group
of Delegates attempted briefly to oust Trump as the Nominee-in-waiting, and
Ohio Governor, John Kasich opted to skip the Convention, in Cleveland.
·
Tuesday – Dr. Carson uses
Alinsky, Lucifer, and Hillary in the expression of the same circular
thought. It was the kind of classic
Carson logic with which we have become all too familiar. You know, the sort that assails Obamacare, asserting it is the worst thing for America since slavery. I suppose I should give him credit for
ascribing to slavery a negative light.
OK, thumbs up, Doc.
·
Wednesday – Ted Cruz
addresses the GOP Convention, and, after having advised Mr. Trump of his
intentions days in advance, and providing a copy of his remarks
earlier in the day, to absolutely no one’s surprise, he refused to endorse
Donald Trump. Suddenly what had been
reported by CNN for two days was treated as a shocking development...by the
media. There was gnashing of teeth and
wringing of hands, and a general post-mortem consensus that Mr. Trump should
have deleted Senator Cruz form the program, given what he knew, and/or Senator Cruz should have, knowing what he knew, just stayed home. But where would the drama have been in that?
·
Thursday – Donald Trump speaks for 75 minutes in his acceptance speech, a modern day record, before finally
“humbly and gratefully” accepting his Party’s nomination. In his uniquely “humble” way, he declared
himself the only person capable of resolving the litany of problems he enumerated
that require fixing, in order to make America safe, work, first, one, and of
course, great…again. If I didn’t know
better I’d think a master Reality TV producer engineered their convention. But that’s just me.
This week, it is the Democrat’s turn to step up
and show their wares. At the outset, it
looked at though the media and the Convention were committed to create just as
much excitement, or drama, if you will, as the Republicans brought us last
week. Even before the Monday opening,
Wiki-Leaks released a series of emails Sunday that showed high ranking
officials of the DNC conspiring to devise schemes to denigrate Senator
Sanders. The resulting fallout led to
the resignation of the DNC Chair, Debbie Wasserman Shultz. Initially, DWS planned to gavel the
Convention into Session, and to gavel it closed, even though she had resigned. This…was an incredibly bad idea. Yes, the optics were less than desirable, but
more importantly the concept itself was profoundly flawed.
Fortunately, sanity prevailed, and some
Democrat, or perhaps several, figured out that the most effective strategy to
pursue if you dig yourself into a hole…is to stop digging. To that end, the erstwhile Chair relinquished
the remainder of her duties and responsibilities, and stepped to the sideline. The result was, after looking and sounding
like a hair-on-fire story throughout Sunday night, and Monday morning, the
Democrats reinvented the opening day by the time the Convention was gaveled
into Session at 4:00 p.m. Monday afternoon.
The actual Convention session went off largely
without a hitch. In fact, the
proceedings were so understated from a drama point of view, that CNN’s resident
GOP counter-programming critics were either mostly silent, or altogether
AWOL. That means, unlike the Trumpster
Fire that lasted all four days of last week’s Convention, Day 1 of the
Democrat’s Convention was a critical success.
Even after losing DWS, there was still a level
of anticipation that Bernie’s supporters would bow up and crash Mrs. Clinton’s
party. The media kept trying to keep
viewers on the edge of their seats with what ifs, and queries of what might happen next. By the time the evening was over, Senator
Sanders, who wrapped up the evening, had given a clear and passionate
endorsement of Secretary Clinton, Senator Cory Booker, NJ, gave a stem-winding
speech, Senator Elizabeth Warren gave a strong speech touting the candidate
that drew high praise, and the cherry on top, though it was not the final
speech, was a masterpiece by First Lady Michelle Obama.
By now, we have like last week, traversed half
of the Convention. The highlight,
naturally, was a speech by former President Bill Clinton who wove a series of
anecdotes and short stories into a compelling tapestry about Mrs. Clinton. There was a considerable amount of discussion
about whether Bill would be able to effectively humanize his wife. In all fairness, he has frequently had a
blind spot when it comes to Mrs. Clinton. Last night, that did not appear to be the
case.
Clinton’s speech on Clinton was substantial in
every conceivable dimension. However, it
was Bernie Sanders, in fact, who delivered last night's highlight. The Clinton and Sanders teams negotiated an
agreement that led to the Senator formally making a motion that led to the Party nominating Hillary Clinton by acclamation. While I
am sure there will be strains of the Never Hillary Movement in the future, that
single act moved mountains in diffusing the most substantive elements of any
remaining resistance. In effect, Sanders
demonstrated he would continue to do his part to unify the Party.
With that said, when Mrs. Clinton, who appeared
via satellite last night night, formally accepts the Nomination tomorrow, it will
mark the moment when the gloves come off…for all parties. The sparring between the two sides has grown
in frequency and tenor in recent weeks.
However, methinks, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Years from now, when we look back on it, the
crossfire between Clinton and Trump is likely to be deemed legendary. In just under 15 weeks, this whole thing will
be a wrap, kit and caboodle. Today we
can reflect on Mrs. Clinton having become America's first female major Party Nominee
for President. Indeed, “The Voters (Delegates) Have Spoken: Hillary
Is the (Democratic) Nominee!”
I’m done; holla back!
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